Hands up, I got Elliot Anderson completely wrong.
When he emerged from the Newcastle United Academy in 2019 it was clear he had talent. The whispers from the training ground were that he could be the next cab off the rank and Anderson was clearly accomplished.
But covering Newcastle in detail at the time, I’m struggling to recall a game where it felt like he really arrived. He was a work-in-progress and even a loan spell at Bristol Rovers in 2022 was a last minute job, Shola Ameobi pulling in a favour from then Rovers boss Joey Barton after moves to Sheffield Wednesday and Luton had fallen through.
Barton had done so little research on Anderson that his first words to Ameobi were to the effect of “I’m only taking him because you tell me he’s good”. In the end was the catalyst for the most dramatic of promotions for the League Two side.
A student of the game
So when Nottingham Forest agreed to buy him for £15m – offering Newcastle a PSR get-out-jail-free card – I did not initially feel it was a catastrophe. When I recently put that recollection to someone who has worked with him in the last few years, they burst into laughter. “An absolute gem,” the source says emphatically. “He is so good that he can be anything he wants to be.”
No one, least of all the young midfielder from Whitley Bay, had wanted him to leave Newcastle and Eddie Howe implored the club to look for alternative solutions.
Anderson was let go for PSR reasons (Photo: Getty)But the club were over a barrel and Nottingham Forest – whose chief football officer, ironically, was current Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson – knew there was a deal to be done.
Their negotiating position was so weak that they couldn’t even put a sell-on clause in the transfer – an oversight described by one transfer executive recently as “almost unforgivable”. It will cost Newcastle tens of millions of pounds when Anderson leaves for a record price for a British player this summer, having excelled with Nottingham Forest.
Those familiar with him describe Anderson as “looking like he belonged” from the moment he walked through the door at the City Ground. They describe Anderson as the “perfect mix of talent and hard work”. He is a “good kid” whose family have imbued him with both a terrific work ethic and high level of humility.
How England nearly missed out
Anderson is a student of the game, a voracious watcher of European football who has an incredibly high football IQ. Afternoons after training were frequently spent in a coffee shop near Forest’s training ground talking football.
“He has always wanted to play in the Champions League,” one source recalls. Although not cocky or brash, Anderson believes that he would thrive on that stage – and it is an opportunity he will surely get next season.
Although the noise has been turned down as England prepare for World Cup lift off, Manchester City remain quietly in talks with Forest. The direction of travel, given his other options have melted away and the player wants to go to the Etihad, is clear even if there is a divergence in valuations at the moment.
Anderson’s priority now is to make a mark in a World Cup that looked a long shot two years ago. At one point he might have been here in the US with Scotland, given he accepted an invitation from former Newcastle manager John Carver to join Steve Clarke’s set-up.
He never seemed to feel truly comfortable with Scotland and withdrew within a day, citing a desire to take more time to make a call over his allegiance. Privately, England – whose early talent identification has had to improve with so many dual-qualified young players – have reached out to see how made up his mind was.
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Analysis: England suddenly have a massive selection dilemma Transfer news: James Trafford to Newcastle is back on – here’s what needs to happen nextHow thankful Tuchel is that happened. “A key player” was how he described Anderson after another performance laced with authority in Orlando last week.
He combines all the traits Tuchel prizes: technique, bravery, a teak tough mentality and a willingness to break from deep. The England manager called him the “full package” and spoke glowingly of a “humble, determined, hungry young footballer”.
Put to our insider, the quote makes sense. “It does not surprise me, he’s a manager’s dream,” they say. And now, as England awaits, he’s at the centre of his nation’s dream.
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